Colman, Gould P.2014-05-092014-05-092014-05https://hdl.handle.net/1813/36318This book is based upon recorded conversations began in 1966 and continued until 1983 with farm people tracing decisions and outcomes—from initial idea to implementation—in a business they owned and operated. “Oral history” was just entering the American lexicon. During this time farm men, women, and children report family-member responses to wide-ranging circumstances confronting their business, such as equipment purchases subject to family control, weather and taxes that defy such control, and others, like courtship, subject to family-member negotiation if not control—but most frequently, some blend of all the foregoing. Some responses seek a short-term solution, while others address long-term business sustainability issues, as when an apprentice prepares for management and ownership, or for departure from the business. Often an interviewee returns to a decision in subsequent conversations, providing an assessment of the implementation’s impact on business performance and family relationships.en-USAgricultural EconomicsRural SociologyGould Colmandairy farm managementbook